South African Local Government Association

, 2016 The Constitution of South Africa enshrines the many roles and powers of local and municipal government. South Africa is a developmental state, in the context that the social development is promoted through the state intervening in the economy. Per section 152, this means that economic and social development relies heavily on municipalities. Section 152 is part of Chapter 7 of the Constitution, which features policy on local government. Section 151 states the many rights municipalities have in governance of their communities. It also states the restrictions of the national and provincial government in infringing on the governmental power of municipalities. Municipalities have broad authorities and power, much more codified than in many other countries. Scholars including Van der Waldt and Thornhill assert that the nexus of public service delivery in South Africa is local government. Local government is not simply a single municipality, but a whole, separate sphere of government. It is the closet government to the people. == History ==

Local, provincial, and national government must work together in South Africa. The South African Local Government Association was created in 1997 to better ensure this, as heavy emphasis was placed on the importance of local and municipal governments in South Africa's development. The 1997 Organised Local Government Act recognizes the South African Local Government Association. Section 21 of the 1973 Companies Act recognized its status as a public entity. The SALGA is tied into international donor politics as well. In the later 1990s, the US National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI) had a goal of strengthening countries' legislatures to ensure their governments are more accountable to their citizens. Ethics codes and comparable legislation were among the activities to develop "structural framework for local government". The main project included the SALGA among various other South African agencies, organizations, and provincial legislatures in a USAID program that provided over $3.8 million in funding. The project was also supplemented by another project that studied parliaments of other countries to increase the effectiveness of legislatures; it was received around $270,000 from the US funded National Endowment for Democracy (NED). == Structure ==

Fees from members, donors for various projects, various other sources, and funds from the national budget provide funding for the SALGA. The administrative organization is structured in a way that the SALGA can easily work with support municipalities, to ensure that they can provide services to their communities. It is organized into eight directorates, led by the office of the CEO. The Current Chief Executive Officer is Xolile George. The eight directorates are the Provincial Offices, Governance and IGR, Strategy, Policy & Research, Municipal Institutional Development, Economic Development & Development Planning, Municipal Infrastructure & Services, Community Development, and Finance & Corporate Services. == Role and function ==

Local government in South Africa is strong and the South African Local Government Association is another avenue for local governments to meet their goals of development and providing services. The SALGA advocates for local and municipal interests at the provincial and national political levels. It analyzes and attempts to offer solutions to problems faced by local and municipal governments. It analyzes numerous elements of local and municipal government, sharing findings and recommendations with all its members. The SALGA works to coordinate LED throughout the country, through the project known as LED networks. The network gathers and shares information about LED to localities throughout the country. The association works on LED internationally with the Commonwealth Local Government Association and the Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions. The SALGA takes action to empower women and support gender equality in local government. The 2006 election saw a 50:50 campaign ran by SALGA to promote equal gender councillor representation. The association also organizes summits and conferences for women in local government. == Actions taken by the SALGA ==

The SALGA publishes a magazine entitled Voice of the Local Government in association with Picasso Headline, which is part of the Tiso Blackstar Group. This magazine concerns local government and municipalities, boosting the visibility of the issues concerning them. It features content regarding the transformation of local governments and developmental service delivery. In 2006, the South African Local Government Association implemented a program that was part of the Development Bank of Southern Africa's "Operation Siyenza Manzi". The program was run in collaboration with DPLG and the National Treasury. In 2007, the SALGA published a report on municipal affairs, explaining what weakened municipality performance. Findings include that councillors' duties are not clearly defined, their offices lack legal support, and lack counseling when making decisions. The South African Local Government Association partnered with other institutions, including the University of Pretoria to provide relevant programming to local governments. Executive leadership and management is among this programming. In 2010, the SALGA developed a plan to ensure municipalities and local communities could all receive benefits brought in from the 2010 World Cup. The 2016 Annual Performance Plan (APP) features much reflection, as the twentieth anniversary of the association approached. The Plan identified municipalities' key problem areas. A ten-point plan was featured, containing actions and recommendations to improve community experiences. The Plan featured a revenue model, which was questioned by members at the National Assembly meeting discussing the APP. This questioning was due to the number of municipalities being reduced from 278 to 257; members expressed this could affect their model. Members also questioned the claim that the SALGA was capacitating municipalities. They wanted to know the plans and actions SALGA would take to deliver through these claims. == Criticism ==

The South African Local Government Association has faced criticism regarding its effectiveness, as shown in a study conducted by the Department and Ministry of Provincial and Local Government. The SALGA is seen as lacking the ability to effectively advocate for local and municipal interests and bring about change and substantive policy. == List of national chairpersons ==

• Thabo Manyoni (2011–2016) • Parks Tau (2016–2019) • Thembi Simelane (2019–2021) == References ==